Productivity doesn't occur in a bubble. No matter how meticulous your organizational system might be, it can come undone if nobody plays along. Luckily, you subtly train people to respect and assist your output.

Productivity blog Lifehack.org recently highlighted three people you need to train to use your inbox: yourself, your coworkers, and your boss. We'll assume that you've already managed to reign in your own urge to throw projects around willy nilly and that your inbox is your new best friend. What about when your coworkers and boss aren't on board though? A personal example:

In a past life, I was responsible for the IT operations in a cluster of offices. I'd often arrive at one of the locations in my cluster only to have someone exclaim, "The print server has been down for a week! Why haven't you fixed it?" or some variation of "X is broke, I need Y." Inevitably, when I would ask them if they had sent me an email (my favorite way of getting notifications) or written it down in the log I kept in the server room (a serviceable, but less favored way of doing it) the response would be some variation of "I called the office I thought you were at and left a message with the secretary.". Or "I stuck a Post-It note on the server room door". Better still, "I talked to the guy on third shift and he left a note for you." I saw the guy on the graveyard shift as frequently as I saw my dentist.

What can you do when others conspire to hide your clean work flow from you? While your initial response might be justified frustration, it is important to keep in mind that just as you scramble to meet the demands of your work, so do your coworkers and superiors. You need to provide them with a tangible and gentle motivation to communicate and distribute information to you in the most effective way possible. Be prepared to repeat yourself a few times, and to emphasize how making sure things are properly placed in your inbox and ready for your attention are the best ways to get quick results. Explain the part of your system that's most relevant to them not having to bother you. For example, try one of the following:

"I empty my inbox and revise my task list every evening before I go home. If the item that needs my attention is sitting in that box, it is guaranteed to get my direct attention by the end of the day.

"I commute between several offices in our district, because I'm not always here to see physical notes you leave me the best way to ensure I respond to your problem quickly is to email me.

"I appreciate you taking the time to bring the documents you wanted me to sign to my office, but I'm concerned they might get lost in the mountains of other stuff in there. I have a silver tray right on the corner of the desk just for important documents like yours.

Remember to frame your requests in such a way that fulfilling them appears—or, better yet, actually is—a win-win situation for the person you're talking to. Nobody will adjust their behavior if they perceive it as simply feeding your neurotic tendencies with no benefit to them. Even if your request is polite and non-confrontational, if your coworker sees no benefit for themselves in complying, they'll simply forget about your request.

You're on a productivity blog, reading about ways to be more productive and make the most of your time. It might sound completely absurd to explain something like using an inbox in such an elementary way, but the reality is your coworkers and bosses are just as furiously running through their day, trying to get it all done in time, often obvious to anyone else working around them. It seems painfully obvious that the tray on your desk is your inbox and where important things should go, but to your busy office mates, it's an email from 12 weeks ago. A few minutes gently coaching them can save you enormous amounts of time and lost productivity over the course of the year.

While you're in the mood to coach and gently prod your office mates into helping your productivity flow, don't forget to help them hone their email skills. Take a peek at our guide to training others on how to use email more efficiently to help cut down on your email inbox headaches. If you have yoru own success—or horror—stories about getting people onboard with your workflow, be sure to share them in the comments below!